129th Bok Kai Festival

The Bok Kai Parade and Festival Feb 28-Mar 1, 2009

This event is held in the Chinatown district of Marysville, CA yearly. We did the show a number of years ago and I do believe it was held just a bit earlier. click here for website They do not have any info regarding booths for vendors and there is no listing in Craftmaster's. They get a good turnout for this event and I was amazed at the total length of the parade. Several hours and quite enjoyable.

The Bok Kai Festival, honoring Bok Eye, the Chinese God of Water, pays tribute to the many Chinese who worked the gold mines in the 1800s. There was a time when they claimed that it had not rained on this festival in it's 100-plus years,. However, on Sunday, March 7, 2006, they had a downpour on that Sunday, but the event continued. A bit wet.

The 129th Bok Kai Festival, reputed to be the oldest continually held parade in California, will occur February 28th and March 1st, 2009 in downtown Marysville. The Festival opens with a 5K Run/Walk. Registration for the Run/Walk begins in front of the Bok Kai Temple on 1st Street at 8:15 a.m.; The Run/Walk starts at 9:00 a.m. The Parade, starting 11:00 a.m, begins on 6th and D Streets, and is followed by Lung Huang, the 150-ft golden dragon as he noisily winds and dances his way through the historic town of Marysville. Lung Huang's entourage includes lion dancers, martial arts demonstrations, floats and more. Lung Huang is currently been in the Bok Kai Festival since 1991. It is anticipayed that a new, larger dragon will be sited in 2008. The parade remains a unique small town parade and Festival unmarred by the commercial smoothness and artificial slickness that often accompanies other venues as they evolve. Following the parade, scheduled multi-cultural entertainment for the entire family including Lion Dancing & Martial Arts by the Hop Sing Society will take place at the corner of 3rd and D Street.

If anybody out there has been a vendor at this event during the past few years, please fill me in. dstefa4621@aol.com or leave a comment. We are considering doing it in 2009, since we do not want to do the Ripon Almond Blossom Festival where they have a couple rather snotty individuals working with their committee and they have a lot of unnecessary fees in addition to booth space. Please read my review on the Ripon Almond Blossom Festival.